The use of coiled tubing technology in oil and gas drilling and servicing has become more and more common in the last few years. In coiled tubing technology, a continuous pipe wound on a spool is straightened and pushed down a well using a coiled tubing injector. Coiled tubing technology can be used for both drilling and servicing operations.
The advantages offered by the use of coiled tubing technology, including economy of time and cost, are well known. As compared with jointed-pipe technology wherein typically 30-45 foot straight sections of pipe are threadedly connected one section at a time, coiled tubing technology allows a continuous deployment of pipe, significantly reducing the frequency with which pipe insertion into the well must be suspended to allow additional sections of pipe to be connected. This results in less connection time, and as a result, an efficiency of both cost and time. Coiled tubing technology also allows fluid to be continuously circulated downhole while inserting the tubing in the well, thereby significantly reducing the likelihood of stuck tubing.
During wellbore servicing operations utilizing coiled tubing, there has been a need to increase and improve safety, operational effectiveness, reduce inefficiencies and decrease downtime that can be caused by moving from one wellhead to another. Over the years, the coiled tubing injectors along with the blow out preventers (BOPs) and subsequent tooling were hung from a crane or placed on the back of a telescoping truck or trailer unit. Unfortunately, conventional units require relocation of the entire crane-injector system for each well. Typically, it has taken about 10 to 12 hours to move such crane-injector systems from one well to another, including dismantling at the first wellhead and setting up the system at the subsequent wellhead. For oil and gas wells, the delay in servicing the well due to moving the crane-injector system can result in significant costs.